Ibrahima

Ibrahima Balde (born 4 April 1989), known as Ibrahima, is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish club Giresunspor.

Club Career

Early years / Spain

Ibrahima was born in Dakar. In 2006 the 16-year-old arrived in Argentina after signing for Argentinos Juniors and, the following year, he joined another team in that nation, Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield. He later said of his time in the country: "When I went to Argentina I could never imagine how many troubles and personal insults I would have to experience because of my skin colour there".

In December 2008, Ibrahima continued his football formation as he joined Atletico Madrid, being initially allocated to its B-side. Due to injuries to the first team's offensive line – Florent Sinama Pongolle had also just been sold – he made his La Liga debut on 2 January 2010, playing the full 90 minutes against Sevilla FC at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in a 2–1 win.

In the same month, on the 17th, Ibrahima scored his first goal with Atletico's main squad, in another home win, 3–2 against Sporting de Gijon: after just five minutes on the pitch, he tapped in Sergio Aguero's saved attempt to make it 3–1.

On 5 March 2010, Ibrahima extended his contract with Atletico until 2013, scoring a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Real Zaragoza two days later. He was loaned to CD Numancia in Segunda Division in the summer, in a season-long move.

Ibrahima's spell with the Soria club was greatly undermined by injury, as he appeared in less than half of the league's matches. On 13 April 2011, he agreed to join CA Osasuna on a three-year deal effective as of July, with a buyout clause of €9 million.

During his tenure at the El Sadar Stadium, Ibrahima netted seven goals in 23 overall appearances, including a brace against Getafe CF (2–2 away draw) and the game's only to help the hosts defeat Real Sociedad in the league. He was also afflicted by physical problems.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Ибраима Бальде (russian)